A landmark in travel writing that "deserves its place among the few great travel stories of our times" (Times, London), this is the awe-inspiring true story of Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer's escape to Tibet during World War II, and is the basis for the 1997 film of the same name starring Brad Pitt and David Thewlis. Caught by the outbreak of the war while climbing in the Himalayas, Harrer was interned by the British in India. After two failed attempts he succeeded in escaping to Tibet, where he reached the forbidden city of Lhasa and stayed for seven years. Harran describes how he escaped and crossed the Himalayas, learned the language and became a friend and tutor to the young Dalai Lama, and later accompanied him into India when the Red Chinese invaded.